The Fever They Can't Fight
by lostinthearrowverse
Summary: There are two teams: Metas of Central City and CC Guardians. The CC Guardians totem-bearers and Sara bear the death totem. When the totem-bearers begin to act strangely and fall ill, Sara calls Laurel for help. Little does Sara know, she is leading Laurel into imminent danger.
1. Prologue

Meet The Teams

Meta Humans

Barry Allen (The Flash)- Superhuman Speed, Lightning Throwing, Phasing,Time Travel, and Flash Time

Cisco Ramon (Vibe)- Breaching, Vibe Blasts

Caitlin Snow (Killer Frost)- Cold and Ice Manipulation

Ralph Dibny (Elongated Knight)- Superhuman Elasticity, Shape-shifting

Dinah Laurel Lance (Black Canary)- Sonic Scream, Sonic Blasts, Echolocation and Tunnel Vision, Hyper-sonic Flight, Expert in 12 fighting styles

Ray Palmer (The Atom)- Ability to shrink and grow

his body and other objects to varying degrees (including the subatomic level while manipulating his weight to his advantage) (No Exoskeleton), Maintains strength of normal size in shrunken state, Genius level intellect

Metas of Central City was founded by Barry Allen in late 2015 and he recruited all the members. They operate out of S.T.A.R. Labs in Central City. Laurel (never died) and Oliver are married and Felicity and Ray are married, though both couples are living in separate cities. Oliver and Felicity were never together and Oliver left Star City with Laurel at the end of season 3.

Totem-Barers

Mari Jiwe (Vixen)- Animal Imitation via tantu totem

Kuasa Jiwe (Ultramarine)- Hydrokinesis via water totem

Zari Adriana Tomaz (Isis)- Aerokinesis via air totem

Mick Rory (Heatwave)- Pryokinesis via fire Totem

Nate Heywood (Citizen Steel)- Metal skin (born with), Geokinesis via earth totem

Sara Lance (Death Witch) Necrokinesis via death totem

CC Guardians founded by Mari and Kuasa Jiwe in 2016. The operate out of Coast City. All members were recruited by the Jiwe's. Mari and Nate are long-time boyfriend and girlfriend. Sara is still in a relationship with Nyssa Al Ghul.


	2. Chapter 1

Laurel Lance, Iris West-Allen, and Felicity Smoak were having an early dinner meet-up before Felicity headed back to Star City. They had been chatting and laughing and sipping on white wine since being seated at 4:00 pm. "I'm really sorry you didn't get to see Oliver. He feels terrible and he misses you. He wanted me to stress that to you. And, next time" Felicity offered kind words to her friend.

Laurel grinned genuinely. "Thanks. I miss him too and I'm just glad you got to see Ray. He has been going insane without you".

"I gave her something he'll be thinking about until I see him again" Felicity purred devilishly and it made her friends giggle. "But I seriously missed my big cuddles". Laurel and Iris gave each other the side-eye in playful mockery of Felicity's comment. "How is Barry and the other Metas of Central City?"

"Well Barry is really good" Iris chirped. "We found that we're pregnant with twins"

"How far along are you?" Felicity questioned in shock "You look good".

Iris laughed. "I am only in the first trimester, but I hope this explains why I am not drinking tonight".

Laurel smiled. "Yeah, and good thing. Barry might change timeline again if anything happened to those miracles in your uterus. Anyway, Felicity, I am sure that Ray told you a lot about-" Laurel stopped as she was notified that she had to be at S.T.A.R. Labs. "I am so sorry about this girls- but I really have to go".

"No, please go- you're saving Central City and Felicity and I are doing is joking around and eating too many rolls" Iris encouraged.

Laurel smiled and waved goodbye to her friends and she took her salad to the host's stand. "Can I get this in a box?" she asked.

The Metas of Central City met in The Cortex. "So what is going on?" Ray asked.

"We're dealing with a new threat Barry announced. I thought that we would have more time after stopping Devoe, but our next foe has made an early arrival I think".

"Who is it?" asked Laurel.

"So someone from city hall paid Ralph and I's office a visit today complaining about Mayor Buren. They think some foul play might have gone on. They say he left the office and he returned hours later and since then he has been acting out of character. Ralph and I talked it over and we went with Joe to check out Buren's place and his office and we brought a few of his items here" Barry explained to his teammates.

"It will be my honor to vibe them," Cisco said.

After vibing several items, Cisco was still drawing blanks. Caitlin took swabs of Buren's DNA off of his personal items and ran tests. "Oh geez," Caitlin said.

"What?" Barry asked.

"The DNA that I got off of the items taken from Mayor Buren's home is not the is not the same DNA I got off the items from his office. That DNA is of Thomas Tramaglini. What you can you guy pull up on him".

"Well," Cisco muttered "He has a mixed past, he is ex-military and was the superintendent a prominent school district here in the city. But he went to prison for the murder of his five children in his car after picking them up from daycare. His sentence ended the night of the particle accelerator explosion".

"So what? He is like "every-man"?" asked Caitlin.

"Maybe," said Cisco. "I do not see another explanation".

"Okay... he killed Van Buren... why?" asked Laurel.

"Good question" Barry said. "But what we should now is get the city's leadership into protective custody, which Laurel and I will handle. Ralph, stay here and train. We are really going to need your shape-shifting ability later on".

Laurel went to the DA's office. "Cecile", she called out. Cecile came over to meet Laurel.

"Laurel," she said and she hugged Laurel. "What brings you by?"

Laurel smiled and motioned Cecile closer. My team and I, we uh- we think that somebody is after you. We would like to move you, Joe, and the baby into protective custody if that is okay" Laurel stammered.

Meanwhile, The CC Guardians were on the dock, fighting with a criminal operation that had seemed to have risen from the dead after months of inactivity. It was the Guardian's fear that there was something bigger in the works. Mari took on a rhinoceros persona and nearly marred men to death before Nate hit her with a fistful of gravel, bringing her back down to earth. "What the-" Mari asked herself as she looked upon 50 bleeding hitmen laying face down in the dark wood in front of her.

"Yeah, what the hell, Mari? You couldn't have stopped her sooner, Nate? Like before she killed everyone" Sara ranted.

"You're one to talk, "death witch" You can kill anybody you wish to with a single touch" Nate complained.

"But I show a little bit of self-control!" Sara fired back.

"Hey, hey guys, it's okay" Kuasa chimed in as she got closer. "Mari, what happened out there?"

Mari shook her head. "I don't know what happened. My eyes changed like they usually do when I use my totem, but this time, something else changed too. My thoughts, my mind... I was thinking the Zambezi elders gave me this totem, so I- I don't know I-"

"It is okay, sister. We all just have to remember that we control the totems we were given, they do not control us" Kuasa said. "We are not gods".


	3. Chapter 2

Barry raced to meet Laurel in front of S.T.A.R. Labs and they walked through the double doors together. "How'd you do with Cecile?" he asked her.

"She accepted because of her trust in us and she wants to protect her baby" Laurel answered.

"Good" Barry sighed in relief. "Captain Singh was skeptical but he agreed because he believes in our team as well".

"We are going stop Tramaglini, Barry" Laurel assured her friend and teammate.

"I know, we always find a way to stop the criminals. But I am just worried about you..." Barry admitted.

"Why?" Laurel asked him, shocked. There was no reason for him to worry about her.

"I don't know. Oliver in Star City, and your sister in Coast City. You don't have anything out here, Laurel" Barry exclaimed.

"I have a team made up of the greatest friends I could ask for" Laurel reassured the speedster. "Being away from Ollie is harder than I thought it would be but there is a mission that I was chosen for, Barry. Ollie and I will be together soon, I can feel it. For now, there is Facetime. Same for Sara, and besides, she is really busy too".

The CC Guardians were training. Nate against Mari, Kuasa against Mick, and Zari against Sara. Mari took on the persona of Grodd, an oversized telepathic gorilla. She threw Nate's metal body against the wall and his heads hit the bricks with a loud clang. "Mari!" Kuasa called out.

"I am sorry. I'm so sorry" Mari yelled, running to Nate and kissing his metal face.

"I'm okay, baby. A benefit of being invulnerable" Nate reassured his girlfriend.

"What was that?" Kuasa continued to scold.

"It felt like a fever in my body, but ice in my heart" Mari confessed and blinked a few tears out of her eyes.

An alert rang out in the team's database about another case of rape, murder, and illegal organ sales. The team suited up and arrived on the scene. Sara kicked down the door of the motel room where things had been said to be going down. She and Kuasa walked into the bathroom and discovered the naked and marred corpse of a seventeen-year-old girl lying on a bed of ice. Kuasa took a deep breath and scratched her forehead. "What do you think, death witch?" she asked, floored.

"They work fast" was all that Sara could say, saddened by the site.

The team sat back, eating dinner in their base. "We were too late" Zari complained "We need to be faster"

"Who do you think is behind this, babe?" Nate nudged Mari.

She shook her head."Well after sniffing the corpse in bloodhound persona, I would say this goes deeper than one person. But that will be hard to prove. It is some kind of organized crime. But we'll find out and we will stop them" Mari promised her team. As a woman on a team dominated by women, she was especially passionate about ending whatever crime organization's reign of terror this was.

That night The CC Guardians were patrolling the streets in pairs as they always did. Mari and Nate, Zari and Sara, and Mick and Kuasa. The night was quiet on most ends but Mari and Nate heard screaming coming from a residence. Mari and Nate ran through the unlocked door and up the stairs to findthree teenage boys sexually assaulting a terrified woman in her own bed. Rage boiled in Mari and her eyes flashed as she switched into the persona of an octopus and asphyxiated the boys with her arms and legs until they were in a blue and lifeless state. Nate knew his girlfriend was killing children, but he looked on as their bodies fell limp, his eyes flashing an ugly green. Nate helped the woman and carried her to the hospital and Mari carried her young sleeping son to the neighbor's house. When the team met back at their base, they had little to say to one another and Mari and Nate reported that nothing happened.

Sara stopped Mari and Nate on their way out. "My totem is telling me that you two are responsible for a murder".

Nate was quick to defend himself. "I- I didn't kill" he stammered.

"Yeah. But you didn't stop her!" Sara exclaimed.

"Don't tell Kuasa, please" begged Mari.

Sara's eyes flashed a deep ivory black color. She laughed "No, no, I wouldn't tell. I wouldn't be the one to rat on gods".

"Gods?" Mari and Nate questioned in unison.

"Aren't we?" Sara hissed. "Plus, we are saving people and guarding this city and that takes up all our time. We have to make our own fun. Those boys were bad apples anyway. The only place they will learn their lesson is hell. My totem tells me so".

"Thanks, Sara," Nate said, with a flash of green in his eyes.

Laurel sat in the Cortex of Star Labs that night with her team, listening to Cisco drone on and on about Tramaglini. "He was diagnosed with multiple personality disorder in prison when he began taking on the personalities of his murdered children. He served a shorter sentence because the extra personalities he developed started solving Central City's cold cases. Guys, Tramaglini is not our typical big bad..." Laurel's phone vibrated many times against her thigh many times. "Are you going to answer that so I can continue...?" Cisco hissed at his teammate.

Laurel got up and walked toward the lobby. "Hi Sara" she answered. "It is good to hear from you!"

"Thanks, I miss you, Laurel" Sara laughed. Then her tone changed "But I am calling because there is something wrong and I wasn't sure what else to do".

"Sara, what is it?" Laurel asked, concerned for her fearless sister. "You can tell me anything".

"It's- it's our totems..." Sara stammered.

"They're lost?" Laurel questioned.

"No" Sara put bluntly. "I am not sure how to explain this but Mari killed children and Nate just stood there... and I, well I think their totems were in control of their actions because my totem has telling me to kill for weeks. Laurel, I am scared. I blacked out for a few minutes tonight but I remember telling Nate and Mari that I wouldn't tell on them because we we're gods. What if I start killing... Laurel, I am not a killer!"

"Okay, Sara. It'll be okay" Laurel consoled. "I'll come to Coast City to see if I can help".


	4. Chapter 3

"Coast City, Laurel? With Tramaglini trying to plague Central City, I really think you leaving is a bad idea" Barry pleaded.

"Ralph is the key to stopping Tramaglini from whatever he is trying to do" Laurel countered.

"But to figure what it is that Tramaglini is up to, we need all hands on deck," Barry said. "Plus, we will definitely need you to prove what happened to Van Buren and that there is an imposter leading our city".

"You and Caitlin are smarter than me" Laurel pushed back. "You two are scientists who work with DNA and biology outside of the team. I am a prosecuting attorney, Barry. Besides, my sister needs help and blood is thicker than dark matter".

"C'mon" Barry begged, "Let's at least discuss this with our team". The two of them walked into the cortex of S.T.A.R. Labs.

It was the late afternoon in Coast City and Ultramarine was hiding. She spoke through her comm to Isis, Citizen Steel, Vixen, Heatwave, and Death Witch. They were ready to move in on the headquarters of the illegal organ-trafficking crime organization that the team had been two steps behind for months. "Ready to go behind enemy lines?" Ultramarine asked her team.

"Yes" replied Isis, Citizen Steel, Vixen, and Death Witch.

"Let's barbeque this operation" Heatwave roared.

"Hey, before we go, no killing-" Ultramarine warned. She was worried about her team members. She did not feel like they were on the same mission they had been on when the got started in 2016. And even she was not feeling right herself.

A few minutes behind the rest of her team, she entered the headquarters. The criminal's guns were firing round after round. The team fought with all the energy that their totems could produce. Vixen climbed up the wall in spider persona and she jumped down and grabbed onto the neck of an assailant's assault rifle and she pulled it back so it made contact with his face, effectively breaking his nose and knocking the man out cold. Then she switched into the bear persona and charged forwards, using her hands to claw assailants down. Heatwave and Ultramarine used their kinetic abilities to disarm the enemy organization members and Isis conjured a gust of wind so powerful that it swept all of the enemy's weapons and ammunition far away. Then she hit the unarmed men with violent wind going 69 miles per hour. Many of the men shot up into the air and back and hit the high wall or ceiling. For many of them, the force and angle of the impact resulted in a broken neck.

Heatwave screamed to his team members "Get back". Then he added fire to the wind, cooking the survivors.

Once the team cleared out and made it back to their base, Kuasa shook her head. "Have you all lost your minds? I said no killing. I didn't even think that you would want to. We have a reputation in Coast City. We are supposed to protect people without hurting people".

"Sister" Mari interrupted. "You miss the point of why we have these totems".

"We were each born holding our totem" Kuasa remembered. "Except for Nate, his creator found it on his doorstep the night he built Nate".

"We have our totems because that is the will of Zambesi's god" Mari reminded her sister but Kuasa shook her head.

"No! You've gone mad, Mari! It is not in the will of Zambesi's god for us to be power-hungry and hurt people. Especially people who are defenseless" Kuasa debunked.

"Those men were not innocents, Kuasa" Nate quickly defended.

"I don't even know who any of you are anymore. A few days ago, all of us agreed that "murder" was the most disgusting word in the English language and now almost all of us have a trail of bodies under our belts and I just don't want to be part of that. GOD, YOU ALL MAKE ME SO ANGRY" Kuasa screamed, just as she saw Laurel enter through the corner of her eye. She developed an orb of water and threw it towards Laurel's head as her eyes flashed a deep blue color.

Laurel screamed the water headed towards her away and it splashed on the ground. "Kuasa!" Sara screamed. "That's my sister! Do not ever try to harm her again!" Sara's eye's turned a dark black and she grabbed a combat fork and aimed to plunge it deep into Kuasa's right shoulder but Laurel jumped in Sara's path and gave her younger sister a hard uppercut punch and twisted her wrist making her release her grip on the weapon.

"Never attack a comrade" Laurel growled very seriously at her sister.

Sara looked ashamed. The whole team did. "Where are your comrades?" Nate asked quietly.

"I come from Central City alone" Laurel explained. She scrunched her forehead. "Have you guys tried taking your totem off?"

"Why would we do that?" Mari said, the question seemingly agitated her. This totem is my birthright".

"Right" Laurel agreed. "I don't quite understand the totem thing but I was there when Sara came out of my mother with that thing in her hand".

"That thing is a totem. The death totem" Sara reminded her sister as if the totem had feelings.

"Okay, you guys are definitely in relationships with your totems and my guess is that that is the problem" Laurel hypothesized. She picked up an empty crate. "Totems come off and are placed in the crate without push-back. Now." Laurel demanded.

"Absolutely not" was most of the team's response but Kuasa and Sara tugged at there totems.

"I don't want things to get any worse" Kuasa admitted.

Sara's eyes went wide and then she looked fearful. "Mine won't come off" she shared.

"Yup. Mine won't budge" Kuasa added with panic.

"C'mon guys. You are not trying!" Laurel encouraged and tried to help Sara. She was shocked by how much difficulty she was having trying to get the totem off of her sister's neck.

Out of curiosity, the others tried to remove their totems and continuously failed.

Laurel bit her bottom lip and thought for a long moment. "I have seen things like this happen. Magic is complicated, but I am going to call an expert".

Laurel walked out of the base and walked into a loud bar a few blocks away. She walked straight to the ladies room, sat on the counter, and pulled out her cell phone. She saw she had messages from Barry and Oliver. She would check them later. She looked through her contacts to find John Constantine. She heard breath very close to her and looked up to see a younger man face-to-face with her. Before she could speak, he placed a sack over her head.


	5. Author's Note

Hi everybody, this is not an actual chapter of the story, I just wanted to clear a few things up:

\- In the story, Team Flash and Team Legends never existed.

-Sara never went on the Queen's Gambit with Oliver. She is not a trained assassin.

-What Sara's totem does is enhances her strength, speed, agility, endurance, durability, flexibility, and expertise in weaponry to a superhuman degree

\- Nate is not an actual person, he is man-made. He is not a robot, but more like a steel Frankenstein. He is always steel and never appears human.

\- As already mentioned in the story, the totem-bearers have possessed their totems since birth and actually came out of their mothers (except Nate) holding their totems in their hand.

I think that is it for now. Also, I will not be posting anything for a little bit as I am under the weather. I will start writing again when I feel up to it. I thank you for your understanding and I promise it will be worth the wait.


	6. Chapter 4

Barry lifted his phone to his ear after seeing his beautiful wife's name written on the screen. "Hi, Iris," Barry said.

"I tried reaching Laurel again and the call went straight to her machine. This has been happening consistently, Barry. I am worrying now" Iris complained.

"Okay, don't be worried. I'll call Sara to make sure Laurel is alright. I'll call Oliver too because maybe she called him" Barry replied. "And all you should focus on is resting and relaxing, okay?"

"I'll try, babe" Iris promised Barry.

"Good because our future family needs mama to be as carefree as humanly possible" Barry warned.

"Barry, please find her" Iris pleaded.

"I will" Barry assured his wife then hung up and shot a quick text to Oliver. He wrote: "Hi, Oliver. Long time, no see. I'm sure Laurel contacted you when she left Central City. The team has lost contact with Laurel since last night. Have you heard from her? Have you heard from Sara? Call if you can I need some piece of mind".

Barry then tried Sara's phone but his call went to her machine and he sighed and hung up.

Oliver was in the Arrow-cave when he saw Barry's message. Oliver knew his wife better than anyone else did. He chuckled. Barry was worried about Laurel for no reason. She was fine, just busy and over-involving herself in the lives of her loved ones.

Oliver was about put in a phone call to Laurel, a Facetime call from Laurel came through on his phone. He accepted and was very surprised when he saw his fearless and powerful wife standing upright with both of her wrist cuffed against a back wall, and a sonic dampener around her neck. A vicious laughter came through the audio. "Who are you?" Oliver demanded in a Green Arrow-esque voice. "Let my wife go. She is innocent. She has never hurt anybody".

"But you have," said the voice of an older man.

"So come get me" Oliver challenged.

"No," said another voice "You come get her and bring your son".

"Ollie, don't do it" screamed Laurel. "They will kill William. And they'll kill me because they just want to hurt you".

Oliver shook his head. "Laurel, if that is all they wanted, they would kill you now. But, I will not let anything happen to you or William. Hang in there, baby" Oliver pleaded "I love you". Oliver hit end and just as he did his phone rang it was Felicity. He answered. "Hello?"

"Turn on the channel 14 now" Felicity instructed, so Oliver did.

"The CC Guardians, the well-known and trusted supernaturally-gifted vigilantes of this great city are officially being declared supervillains. They are very dangerous and are responsible for the deaths of 13 innocent people in the last 10 hours. As your mayor, I am declaring a city-wide evacuation" Coast City's mayor announced.

Felicity's voice caught Oliver's attention. "Oliver, isn't Laurel in Coast City?"

"Yeah, and she will stay there and try to fix Sara" Oliver fibbed, "I- ah- I gotta go make sure she is safe".

"But Oliver" Felicity said, "What if something bad happens in Star City while you are gone?"

"I trust you that you and John and Roy will know what to do" Oliver replied.

In Coast City, frantic and terrified citizen's were stuffing their suitcases full and readying themselves for evacuation. The evacuation order came to a halt when The CC Guardians made it clear that Coast was theirs and no one was going anywhere.

As people were gathering at the city's exit, they saw cyclone out on the cause of a massive tidal wave. The tidal wave was coming straight for the people. Screaming, the crowd went running for shelter towards City Hall. Once they were inside, the CC Guardians caught their attention as they had the mayor in their custody. Ultramarine's hand was completely water which she drowning the mayor with. Once he dropped dead, Mari's voice boomed: "Shame on you people for electing that joke to lead this great city to its destiny. A great city needs great leaders. We are this city's destiny. We are gods, so do not call us guardians. We choose who lives and dies so do not upset us if you desire to continue breathing. And nobody leaves Coast City".

Oliver couldn't make sense of everything. What happened to Laurel? Why do her captors want to hurt him? And why were the CC Guardian's hurting people? Was it all connected? He called Barry.

"Hi," Barry said, "Did you get my text?"

"I did" Oliver confirmed. "I'm going to find Laurel, but you and your team seriously need to know what is going on in Coast City".


	7. Chapter 5

"What do you want from us?" screamed a young man from the crowd in Coast City.

"What do we want? Do your own bidding. You people walk around thinking that it is in your rights to have us putting our lives, our families, our happiness, and our sanity on the line, so you can go to sleep with windows open and your doors unlocked" Sara snarled. "But we aren't going to submit to your orders anymore. We are going to take back our lives, but we don't just want our lives, we want yours, too"Sara took a supernatural leap over the heads of a section of the crowd and landed with her face inches from the man who questioned them. With a straight razor, she opened his throat.

Mick smirked as his head and his hands burst into flames, "Any questions?"

"So are we going to go to Coast City and help save everybody?" Ray asked his team's leader.

"No," Barry said. "Laurel has got this. It is her sister anyway".

"But Laurel has fallen off the radar, and with everything going on there, they might have hurt Laurel, or worse" Caitlin countered.

"Sara wouldn't do that, I promise you, she wouldn't" Barry assured. "And Oliver isn't worried; HER HUSBAND is not worried, so I don't feel the need to run out there".

"Sara is sick" Caitlin pushed. "Maybe we- I can diagnose the Guardians".

"Plus, c'mon Barr- The Guardians have superpowers- so do we, and if we are there that will level the playing field, and we decrease the body count" Cisco added. "And if Laurel is hurt-"

Barry cut Cisco off "Everybody here knows that Laurel can take care of her fucking self".

Silence set in on the entire room. Barry looked nervous and he sped from

S.T. A. R. labs, with a streak of red light behind him.

Oliver walked into William's room. "Hey buddy," he said.

"Hi dad" William answered.

"Listen to me, okay. I am going to Coast City to help Laurel" Oliver told his son.

William looked down. "But dad, haven't you seen the news" he whispered.

"I have, buddy, but the Guardians are my friends- no they're family and they will not hurt me" Oliver promised.

"Oh god, have they hurt Laurel?" William panicked. He did not get to see his step-mother often, but the love he felt for her was great.

"No, ya know, William, Laurel's sister Sara is a Guardian. She won't and won't let anyone else lay a finger on Laurel" Oliver lied through his teeth. Whatever spell Sara was under was intense because Sara had not even gone looking for Laurel.

"Why isn't your husband here yet?" The younger man yelled. Laurel was a strategic thinker and she knew that everyone had a weakness. She had to find theirs. They were both complaining about the time it was taking Oliver to arrive, so Laurel knew that they were both the anxious type.

"Oliver loves me very much, but when he get's here, he'll be more concerned with stopping The Guardians. In his bones, he is a hero for the people" Laurel replied. She was not being truthful. She knew Oliver would come for her first so they could fight together.

"You are lying" the older man, accused. "My life's mission is to destroy Oliver Queen. Who gave him the right to play judge, jury, and executioner?"

"Dad- shut up!" the younger man shouted, exasperated.

"The Green Arrow has made some mistakes, yes, but my husband is a beacon of hope for so many people- you have to understand that," Laurel said.

"He took away my hope when he ruthlessly assassinated my brother and his uncle 8 years ago" The older man said. "For every hour it takes Oliver to get here, I cut off one of your gorgeous little fingers. If I run out of fingers, the next thing to get the cut is your head".

Barry ran home to Iris and she was in bed drinking a cup of milk. Barry climbed into bed next to her. "Hey, sexy. What're doing here? Any luck reaching Laurel?" Iris asked.

"No," Barry said, "But Oliver is sure that she is fine".

"Are you okay?" Iris asked.

"No" Barry replied.

"You wanna talk about it?" Iris persisted.

"It's just- Iris- I don't wanna run anymore. I- I'm tired. I'm gonna be a father. I don't want Central City to be so dependent on The Flash" Barry said.

"Well, that is why you assembled the Metas Of Central City. So, people don't depend on you alone" Iris reminded her husband.

"The whole team wants to go to Coast City and make sure Laurel is safe and I just don't think we should. There is already a lot on our plates, and if Laurel is in troub-" Iris cut Barry off.

"Laurel is family, Barry. Family matters. And Laurel's family is family, so if you and your team can help fix Sara- well do it for Laurel".

Barry put his ear to Iris's baby bump. "I just want one normal week to be at home with my wife," he said.

"And I will be here when you come running home to me" Iris assured him.

Barry lightening-sped into the speed lab in S.T.A.R labs where Cisco was opening a breach to Coast City. "Wait, I am coming with you" Barry shouted.

"I'm glad you changed your mind" Cisco grinned.


	8. Chapter 6

Oliver stopped by the bunker to grab some gear for his trip to Coast City. It had been a long time since he was there. He stepped out of the elevator and came face to face with Dig and Felicity. "Hi guys," he said with a small wave and walked passed them.

"Oliver, we're coming with you to Coast City," John said.

"No, you aren't. John, I know how capable you are in the field, but Laurel is my wife. And Felicity, I love you and because I love you I can't have my focus split. I have to focus on Laurel's safety. She is in a position where she absolutely can not defend herself, so it's up to me" Oliver explained.

"Oliver, don't forget that the people you love make you stronger," John said.

"And we love Laurel too, Oliver" Felicity added. "We want to fight for her".

"If the men who have her see you two, they will kill Laurel" Oliver argued.

"I would give my life for Laurel" John confessed. "She has saved my life, and everyone else on this team's life at least once. She has done more for everybody on our team than anybody else has. Anybody on this team would give their life for her. We owe it to her".

"Agreed" Felicity chimed in.

Oliver looked at the ceiling and thought of the advice he had gotten so many times from Malcolm, and Slade, and John himself. Oliver finally spoke. "I care about you two very much. You have shown me nothing but friendship and support from the beginning of our crusade. I hope that no one gets hurt when we move on Laurel's abductors, but I have to make sure you guys understand that I am focused on Laurel's safety".

The Metas of Central City jumped through a breach into Coast City and landed behind the entire Coast City police department who had their guns pointed at the entrance to City Hall. A negotiator was attempting communication with the Guardians over a megaphone.

"The CC Guardians must be hauled up inside" Ray pointed out.

The heavy double doors to City Hall opened and gunfire immediately started. Barry ran as fast as he could, grabbing the bullets out of mid-air. The person exiting City Hall was not a Guardian, but a hostage who completely ablaze and screaming in agony. Killerfrost quickly pushed to the front of the crowd and hit the man with as much cold-air as she could produce to put out the flames.

Laurel had lost two fingers and she was wondering if Oliver had even left yet. The younger man walked in and Laurel started up the dialogue right away. "So, how did you know I would be in Coast City?"

"You don't get to ask questions, bitch. You are our prisoner and the less you know, the better" he fired back.

"You are right, I am in no position to be asking questions" Laurel agreed calmly. "You know, Sara, the Death Witch is my sister. I am really, really worried about her, and me. I mean, I'm gonna lose my head" Laurel started fake-crying.

"You're are gonna die whether your husband witnesses it here, on film, or after he saves you" the man replied.

"What- what do you mean?" Laurel croaked.

"You're digesting a poison and have been since yesterday night. It will make you sicker and sicker- slowly deteriorate you over the course of about 10 days. The longer we starve you, the faster it will work. So, I would say you have more like nine days" the man taunted. Laurel hadn't realized how hungry she was and suddenly her tears became real. She was going to die and she hadn't spent nearly enough time with her family. She had so many things she wanted to say to Oliver and William and so many hugs and kisses she wanted to give them. Same with Sara and her father.

Oliver was about to leave with Felicity and Dig when Quentin knocked on the van's passenger side window. Oliver rolled the window down. "Quentin, we're kind of in a rush. Any other time would be great but-"

Quentin cut Oliver off "Both of my baby girls are in trouble. Oliver, I will never forgive you if you don't let me get in this van" Quentin spoke sternly to his son-in-law.

Oliver looked back at Felicity because he already knew what he could see on her face. "Oliver, I had to call him. Maybe, he can bring Sara back down to earth. Besides, the man lives for his girls and he has the right to fight for them" Felicity explained.

Oliver nodded. 'Felicity, you made the right call" Oliver affirmed.

It was around midnight and three hostages had been brutally murdered in acts of unspeakable violence.

The police were chatting with the Metas of Central City, telling them everything they knew about the Guardians and their abilities. Ray had his eyes fixed on the double door entrance."I think I can get in there without being seen. I'll open doors and we'll need the police force to focus on getting the hostages out and since our team has superpowers, leave fighting the Guardians to us, please" Ray said.

Ralph raised his eyebrows. "What do you think, boss?" he asked Barry.

"I think The Atom's idea puts a lot of people at risk, including the Guardians. I think we need more time for Killerfrost to find a cure. But we don't have it. Our only hope is that the Guardian's remain random and sloppy" Barry reacted angrily, which was out of character.

The Guardian sat on the front desk inside City Hall. "I'm bored" Mari announced. "Let's raise some hell".


	9. Chapter 7

The CC Guardians joined hands to conjure up the most destructive threat they had ever faced themselves: an undead pirate, an undead Viking, and undead ancient Roman soldier. Blackbeard, Freydis Ericksdottir, and Julius Ceasar stormed out of City Hall and got to work destroying everything in their path. Barry quickly switched into Flash-time and he grabbed the hand of Ray and the whole team was shortly also participating in Flash-time.

"What the hell?" Cisco exclaimed. "Where did these undead historical figures come from?"

"Remember what Laurel told us about Sara's team "special" ability?" Ralph reminded the team.

"Oh yeah," Caitlin remembered. "Their totem's combined power allows the group to manifest as anything they can all put into their minds".

Barry looked down. "I feel like Laurel not being here is my fault. I have been selfish lately".

"I'm sure Laurel doesn't blame you for whatever has happened to her, but we'll talk about it later" Ralph breathed heavily and Barry realized his team had been in Flash-time too long so he let go and exited Flash-time.

Diggle turned the van's motor off after the team's arrival in Coast City. Felicity was on her tablet, looking information on where Laurel was last seen and looking for police reports from before the madness started. "Okay," she said "The last place Laurel used her Canary Cry was in CC Guardian's base. But I know she is not being held there. The cry was used roughly- 7:00 pm yesterday".

Oliver nodded. "Keep digging please". Oliver looked back at Quentin. "So what do you want to do now?"

"Gosh, I don't how to help Sara, I guess we should all focus on Laurel" Quentin admitted.

"I ran facial recognition on the video and I was able to digitally unmask Laurel's abductors. Father and son. Their names are George and Barron Falk and they are connected to a long-running, human organ-trafficking, crime organization. The organization was started up by George's late brother" Felicity shared.

"That's excellent work, Felicity. Did you find a location on Laurel?" Oliver asked, pleadingly.

"No, I'm sorry but these guys didn't want anyone in on this. This is a personal vendetta" Felicity said.

Laurel's right hand was fingerless and bleeding heavily. She was determined to find a weakness. The younger man was wrapping Laurel's hand. Laurel bit her bottom lip. "You know why I really came to Coast City?" she breathed. The younger man gave Laurel a look saying that he would actually entertain her. She continued. "I mean my sister going off her head was a good excuse, but actually I wanted to find a place. Haven't you ever wanted to start over in a new city?"

The man was quiet for a bit but then he said: "Yes".

"Really?" Laurel asked. "I thought you loved hanging out with your father and whatever it is that you do".

The man seemed to panic. "No, no I- I do" he stammered. "It is just, my path- was chosen for me. I've been doing bad things with my dad and my uncle for as long as I can remember. If I wanted to go to college or anything else, I couldn't do it. And- and I really want to go to college. It doesn't matter- I am too old... Hey, why would you want to come live in Coast City instead of going back to Star City?"

"Oliver and I are not in love anymore" Laurel fibbed."It wouldn't make any sense. I'd be close to family here".

The man tensed. "Are you telling me Oliver is not really going to come for you?"

"He will" Laurel reassured. "He doesn't know he is not in love... but I don't see the love that used to be there when we look into each other's eyes" To Laurel's surprise, a few tears rolled down her cheeks. The young man wiped them away with his sleeve.

"The older man stormed in. "6 fucking hours" he screamed. He took out his blade and swiftly sliced Laurel's left thumb off and Laurel screamed and noticed the younger man wincing.

The Metas of Central City were fighting Blackbeard, Freydis Ericksdottir, and Julius Ceasar tooth and nail. The Metas managed to tie up Freydis and Julius, but Blackbeard was on the loose.

"Hey Flash" Blackbeard called out. He was holding a Coast City citizen up, threatening their neck with his sword.

"No" The Flash screamed, rushing to save the innocent life. When he got close, Blackbeard drove his sword through The Flash's right bicep. Barry screamed, and Caitlin and Cisco ran toward him as The Guardian's reformed into themselves and Mari switched into a tiger and mauled Cisco and Nate buried Caitlin in falling dirt.

Quentin and Felicity were interviewing witnesses from the bar Laurel was last seen in. They talked to quite a few people who didn't know anything. They approached a young man and asked him about that night. The man looked nervous and began to run. Quentin chased him and he ran until he disappeared into the crowd of the Coast City police department. "Damn it" Quentin yelled. He decided to tap an officer on the shoulder. He turned around. "Excuse me, listen, my daughter came to this city and she's missing. She was abducted from a bar yesterday night. I need help" Quentin pleaded.

The officer shrugged. "I'm sorry, Mr-"

"Lance," Quentin said.

"Wait, Lance? Like as in related to Sara Lance?" The officer pressed for answers.

"Yes. She is my other daughter!" Quentin exclaimed.

The officer nodded his head. "You can help us!" he exclaimed.

Laurel was quietly waiting for something to happen and now that she had the chance, she was really noticing the pain in her hands. The younger man entered the room and Laurel started talking to distract herself. "Hey, I have had some time to think," she told him.

"Yeah?" the man said.

"You really wanna go to college... I'm gonna make that happen... I promise you that. But I cannot do it from here" Laurel negotiated.

"I- my dad will be mad... he'll try to kill me if I let you go!" The younger man explained.

"I won't let anything happen to you... Just take this sonic dampener off of me please" Laurel pleaded.


	10. Chapter 8

Quentin, Felicity, the chief officer of the Coast City PD and a few other officers snuck into a secure crisis survival area owned by the city's authority. Felicity pulled a few small devices out of her bag and placed them around and began to program them on her tablet.

A young female officer looked at them at Felicity and asked: "What are those?"

Felicity looked up and replied "If I program these correctly, officer, the device will put up a shield on the inside of these walls that the CC Guardians power cannot penetrate. To program correctly, I need no distractions".

The chief officer asked, "Would you like a glass of water, Mr. Lance?" Quentin declined so they got straight to the questioning "Has something like this ever happened before with Sara? Has she ever showed you or anybody violent or malevolent behavior?"

"When she is wearing her totem, her strength, speed, agility, reflexes, everything that has to do with athletism is enhanced within her to a superhuman degree" Quentin explained "But she can choose with her own mind what to do with her enhanced abilities. She is not a killer. This is not my baby girl. I don't know what is going on, but it scares me... Do you know anything about my other daughter's disappearance?"

"We don't know where she is, Mr. Lance. But we're going to find her" the same female officer told the worried father.

Felicity called out "I have it working. Now, I'll call my husband and we will get as many innocents in here as we possibly can".

The younger man was holding Laurel's good hand, trying not to touch the bloody stump where her thumb used to be. The two of them were being deathly silent. They approached the room where the older man was. Laurel saw him leaning over a large artifact that she had only seen in one of Sara's books. It was from Zambezi. "What is he doing?" she whispered, though she had a clue and was hoping the younger man would tell her otherwise.

"Laurel, promise me that you trust me," the younger man said.

"You kidnapped me... I don't trust you. I don't even know your name" Laurel replied.

"We aren't safe to talk about this here" the younger man insisted and squeezed Laurel's hand tighter and led her away.

The Flash and The Atom were able to store most of the innocent citizens of Coast City away in the protective quarters that Felicity had set up.

Oliver and Diggle met up there with Quentin, Felicity, Barry, Ray and everyone else. "It is only a matter of time before CC Guardians defeat us all and find the innocent people" Barry complained.

"They cannot break the technological program I set up" Felicity boasted.

"So", said Barry "What happens when Ultramarine drys up the water supply in the entire city, or when Isis cuts the air supply? Everyone will die. Even if that doesn't happen, who's to say that the Guardians won't move on to the next city?"

"Calm down" Oliver demanded of everybody. "I think that everybody's first concern should be finding and saving Laurel. She is family to all of us".

"Well, we should tell the police that we know who took her" Felicity suggested.

"The police, unfortunately, can't help us" Oliver deterred. "Felicity, did you find anymore background on the Falks"

"I know that George has hated The Green Arrow for like forever. And the Guardians because they are always thwarting the plans of the organization that he and his son belong to. He is also obsessed with finding weaknesses within the heroes he goes up against... with you, it's your family. With the Guardians, well he has been studying the teachings of Zambezi for years..." Felicity revealed.

Oliver nodded "Everyone has a weakness" he mumbled. "Laurel tells me that all the time".

The younger man and Laurel had made it back to their original spot because the older man would be coming back shortly to cut another finger off of Laurel's left hand. She let the younger man cuff her. "Okay," he whispered. "What you saw my dad doing was manipulating the Ses artifact that controls the CC Guardians totems. He released a fast-acting magic infection on the totems that is causing the Guardians to attack the innocent people of the city".

Laurel's brow furrowed "Why?"

"He wanted his revenge on Green Arrow" the younger man whispered, shamefully.

"So, he stole my sister's innocence to bring me here so he could kill my husband?" Laurel asked with rage rising in her voice.

The older man entered the room. "Hey" he shouted, "What is she doing without-"

The man was silenced by Laurel's sonic cry.

The Metas and The Green Arrow came walking up to the CC Guardians who were immediately gearing up to fight. Oliver released a storm of trick arrows and knocked the Guardians off of their feet. He looked sharply into his sister-in-law's eyes. "Laurel is in trouble" Oliver shouted at Sara. Sara returned to him a blank look. "DID YOU EVEN HERE ME, SARA? LAUREL IS IN TROUBLE!"


	11. Chapter 9

Sara looked up at Oliver as if her eyes were suddenly adjusting to light after spending hours in the dark. "L-Lau-rel" she sputtered. Heatwave stood and shot flames at the Metas and The Green Arrow, but Killerfrost defended them with a gust of cold air.

"Take it easy," she said. "You are not gods"

Oliver followed that up, saying: "You once cared about helping people. Sara, somebody who the both of us truly and deeply care for is being held captive somewhere in this city- your sister, my wife. We need to save her, her life depends on it. It might be too late, but I am hoping that you can fight this... that you can all fight this and that we can be a team".

Sara looked down and then back up to meet Oliver's gaze. "If I show I am merciful, then I truly will not be, and will never have been a god. I WILL GIVE UP MY LIFE. Is that what you want, Ollie? Do you want to give up your life too? No, of course, you don't. You think there is life after all of this. There is one life, Oliver. But you can never have it. You are not a god. You will bleed and you will feel pain and you will die".

Suddenly, Sara was lifted from the ground by a flying ally the group knew all too well. Supergirl punched Sara several times a few feet above the ground and then she dropped her on her ass. Supergirl made a large circle in the air and then she landed in between Oliver and Barry.

The Guardians stood up and joined hand and conjured earth X doppelganger's of Oliver (Dark Arrow), Barry (Dark Flash), Kara (Overgirl), Laurel (Siren X), and Tommy (Prometheus). The whole group's eyes went completely wide. "Okay," Kara whispered. "Oliver, I brought Mon-El and Alex with me, so take those two and Felicity, Dig and Quentin and find Laurel. We have this".

Oliver, Diggle, Felicity, and Quentin were slightly surprised when they saw Mon-El and Alex already waiting for them next to Diggle's van. Mon-El said something that made Oliver want to hug him. "Your wife used her cry slightly under an hour ago. Last we checked, she was being held at a mostly ruined warehouse but her cry must have taken the walls down, so they are moving her. I flew around the city and from what I can tell, it looks like they are taking her to City Hall. In all the distraction".

"Mon-El, I don't know how I can repay you now, but I will find a way once my wife is back in my arms" Oliver promised, breathlessly.

Dark Flash bolted toward Barry knocking him down and then throwing him up in the air and punching him directly in the nose on his way down. Overgirl tussled with Kara and seemed to also have the upper hand. Barry stood up and called out to Ralph. He had an idea. The metas used a similar technique to defeat Devoe. He pulled back on Ralph's arms as far as he could run with them and then he let them go. Ralph's elongated arms came back towards his body, but before they returned to normal, they knocked down all five earth X'ers. However, they quickly got up and the battle raged on. Ralph took on Siren X, while Ray took on Prometheus. Caitlin and Cisco fought Dark Arrow. Dark Arrow finally went down when Cisco pushed him through 100 dimensions and he landed back in front of City Hall, unconscious.

Caitlin joined the fight against Siren X and Cisco helped Ray take down Prometheus. Siren X aimed her cry at Caitlin, but Ralph picked her up and stretched the both of them out of harm's way. Caitlin formed a lethal icicle in her hand and Ralph extended his arms to get Caitlin close enough to Siren X to stab her in in the chest. She went down right next to Dark Arrow.

Supergirl was repeatedly punching Overgirl's face and throat. Then an idea dawned on Kara. She signaled to Ray who then shrunk Overgirl with a single atomic blast. A miniature Overgirl began to fall but Kara caught her and threw toward the sun. Overgirl returned to full size and came falling toward the ground, completely engulfed in flames. When she hit the ground, the flames went out but Overgirl was down.

Prometheus went down quickly with Caitlin, Cisco, Ralph, Kara, and Ray's undivided attention. Dark Flash stopped running for a moment when he noticed that all his allies were down. Barry stood by his allies and said proudly "It's over CC Guardians".

Dark Flash ran laps around his group of enemies, generating a vortex of red lighting and making his enemies fall down (except Barry, who only stumbled). Barry ran straight towards Dark Flash (as he was catching his breath) and threw him into the air. While in the air, Caitlin aimed an ice blast, Cisco aimed a vibe blast, Ray aimed an atomic blast, Kara aimed her heat vision, Ralph aimed a punch, and Barry aimed a lightning bolt and they all hit Dark Flash at the same time. He screamed and hit the ground.

The CC Guardians mutated back into themselves and laid on the ground, out cold. Barry and Kara wasted no time and hurried to tie them up.


	12. Chapter 10

Ralph thought of an idea. He shape-shifted into Laurel to give Sara a better idea of what was happening to her sister. Barry cuffed Ralph and locked a sonic dampener around his neck. Shortly, after Sara came to.

"Sara", Ralph cried out. "Please, help me. I need you to fight this. For me... please".

"Laurel..." Sara groaned.

"I need you, Sara" Ralph continued. 'Now, more than ever. They are gonna kill me" Ralph began to sob.

Sara sighed. "I won't let anything happen to you, Laurel" she admitted. "We need to get the rest of my team out of our way, then we can save you. I have to find the rest of your team".

The rest of the metas stepped out of the shadows. "We're here for you, Sara" Barry assured "Let's save your sister"

Barry ran with the unconscious Guardians through a breach Cisco provided to the pipeline in S.T.A.R. Labs. He locked them up and then he returned to Coast City.

Oliver and the others showed up at City Hall. "What happened?" Kara asked Mon-El.

Mon-El responded: "Laurel and her captors will be here"

"What is going on with Sara?" Oliver grumbled.

"I will help save my sister... I am putting my cause on hold... but this doesn't change anything" Sara admitted.

"Fine" Oliver responded.

Laurel was handcuffed in a cell within the van. "I thought we were going to City Hall?" she grumbled.

"No" the older man responded shortly.

"Then where the hell are we going?" Laurel raised her voice.

"To Oliver's base of operations," the older man snapped. "When he arrives, we will execute you in front of him. We have some friends from our organization waiting for us there".

Kara looked at all the heroes in front of her. "I know where they're going. I heard them talking. It was quiet enough. Oliver, they're going to the Arrow-cave. We will meet them there but Oliver, I suggest you stay here".

"Why?" Oliver asked, raising his voice.

"If they see you, my guess is that they will execute Laurel" Barry theorized.

"That's right" Kara confirmed.

"We will not anything happen to Laurel" John assured the worried, hot-headed husband. "She's family, Oliver".

Cisco opened a breach and Barry, Kara, Sara, Ralph, Caitlin, Ray, Mon-El, Alex, John, and himself stepped through. Felicity and Quentin stayed with Oliver to make sure he didn't do anything stupid.

The group of heroes breached into the Arrow-cave, but they hid in the back where all of the men with military-grade weapons could not see them. They were most certainly outnumbered. Sara only had one choice to level the playing field. Cisco opened a breach and Sara stepped through it.

Sara was in the pipeline at S.T. A.R. Labs and Mari was the first one to spot her. "Traitor" she barked.

Nate added, "You have such nerve to show yourself here".

"I do not like helping those heroes any more than you do especially after what they did to us, but Laurel, my sister, she was only trying to help us. Laurel is my blood sister, and you five are my soul sisters and brothers... so please, we will fight with them one more time and when my- OUR sister is once again safe, we will only fight for ourselves and one another" Sara begged.

Even though the other Guardians did not like what Sara was proposing, they could not ignore that Sara WAS their sister for she too wore a Zambesi totem around her neck. And Laurel was Sara's sister, so Laurel was a distant sister to them all. "We will help you, Sara" Kuasa finally caved and the other also agreed to help.

The two men dragged Laurel by her elbows and dropped her on her ass on the glossy floor in front of the mannequins. Laurel saw that Oliver had kept her mannequin dressed in her old suit from before Cisco upgraded it. She smiled at that. It made her feel like that was Oliver's way of keeping her close when she was far away.

"What now, George?" A man asked the older man.

"We gather up all of the weapons that we can. Other have access to this bunker beside The Green Arrow and they will likely be armed when they stumble upon us" The older man, George growled. "We have our gun, but this place is stocked with bows and arrows, knives, swords, cross-bows, and explosives even... Let's have a look around".

"We move now" Barry commanded. Cisco sent a breach to S. . Labs for the Guardians, which they stepped through. The elevator door opened and the heroes were half expecting Oliver to enter but instead, they saw Arsenal walk in.

Arsenal immediately raised his bow when he saw the intruders and used a trick Oliver showed him. He released eight arrows in a quick-fire sequence. They hit the floor in a formation and while the men were preparing to shoot at Arsenal, the trick arrows exploded, causing the intruders to fall and some of them crashed into the mannequins. Arsenal aimed his next arrow at Laurel's throat and took her sonic dampener clean off. She stood and ran behind Arsenal. Roy helped uncuff Laurel's wrists while the other heroes burst out of the shadows and the fight got underway.


	13. Chapter 11

Bullets were flying at the heroes and Kara acted as the team savior, flying around at lightning speed and having bullets bounce off of her. A kryptonite arrow came flying towards Supergirl from Diggle's hijacked Green Monster crossbow. Arenal's arrow intercepted the kryptonite arrow in mid-air. Monel went running towards the assailant holding the Green Monster and he used a cape trick to flip the assailant over in mid-air. The man's head struck the ground and he immediately lost consciousness.

John pointed and shot at shoulders, kneecaps, arms, legs, hands, and feet only. He had no intention of killing. George caught eye of The CC Guardians fighting on the "wrong" side and he disappeared into a dark corner. Only a moment later, Nate turned on Diggle and punched him in the face. Supergirl flew to Nate. "Stop" she called and pulled Nate away from Diggle by his neck. Mari switched into a pterodactyl persona and used her feet to seize Supergirl and fly her around to the room, banging her up quite a bit.

Killerfrost was firing icicles at the shooters but Mick got in her way and he hit her with a fiery blast that sent her flying back but Barry caught her. He stabilized her and then ran in circles around Mick, creating a speed force vortex attack.

Laurel aimed her cry at Barron Falk but Isis stepped in and blew Laurel's own sonic waves back at her. Laurel's head hit the railing of mission control. She climbed back to her feet and scanned the room for Sara. She saw Barry running around Sara in every which direction, punching her. Laurel leaped towards Sara and pulled her to a crouching position behind mission control. "Sara" Laurel cried, "I figured it out, I know what is wrong. George, that older man, he is the one behind all of this. Please come with me- me and you can stop him".

Sara grabbed Laurel's fingerless right hand and she cried out "Is he the one who did this to you?"

"Yes," Laurel answered honestly. Sara used her totem to call the other Guardians to their location. "What is it? What is wrong?" Mari demanded.

"Our job is not done yet" Sara replied.

Mick shouted, "Your sister is safe, is she not?"

"Think really hard" Laurel interjected encouragingly. "You all once shared the common goal of saving your city, saving innocent people. People trusted you and loved you because you were special and had greater abilities to protect them than they did on their own. Don't you see, when you acted like heroes, you got more respect. We choose the right thing even though it might be the harder or scarier or more stressful thing and that is what makes us heroes. That is the whole point. That is why you were born with your totems in the first place. You were never gods. You were supposed to use your totems as tools to becoming heroes. Just like there is a reason that every member of my team was hit by the particle accelerator explosion"

Sara added "I remember and I know that all of you do too. Laurel says that she knows who has been controlling our actions since our change in our hearts set in. She thinks that we can stop him and then we can get back to what we do best: guarding innocent people in a city that we all love".

Kuasa looked at Mari and exhaled through her mouth. "I really need you all to stand down" she ordered. They nodded. "Thank you," Kuasa said. "Sara, what would you like us to do?"

Sara smiled. "I think Laurel has a plan".

"George has been manipulating an ancient artifact of the Zambesi people. And what he has been doing has been causing your mindset and behavior to go off of the rails. We need to reverse what he's been doing to it. Kuasa, Nate, Mick, and Zari, I need you to go and try your hardest to fight against Falk's men. Meanwhile, Sara and I will fight George Falk and Mari will try to fix the artifact" Laurel instructed.

Heatwave, Isis, Ultramarine, and Citizen Steel rejoined the fight. "Let's heat this place up" Heatwave roared to Supergirl. The both of them released sweltering heat vision on the enemy. Isis and The Flash followed it up by rotating their arms in a circular motion as fast as they could and the men on the other side went crashing into the wall and other large pieces of furniture, most of them dropping unconscious.

Laurel got George's attention with a controlled canary cry. He spun around. "There is nothing that you can do to stop me, birdy" He cried, antagonizingly. Sara ran straight for him and hit him with a damaging uppercut. Blood spilled from his aging mouth. George stumbled back to his feet and grunted.

"You will not mess with my family ever again" Sara growled, insistently. "You will not mess with the Khushu Idol ever again", Sara grabbed a spare bo staff and slammed it into George's stomach and hit him again across both kneecaps. George sunk to his bruised knees and Laurel released two sonic pulses from her palms causing George to curl into a ball on the ground. She kept him on the floor by hitting him with an intimidating canary cry.

Mari approached Khushu Idol. She had only seen it in pictures and in dreams. She placed her hand on the idol. This action sent a message through the six totems and totem-bearers all gathered and they each placed a hand on the Khushu Idol. They recognized that there was no recovery from the irreversible damage done. Kuasa was the first to acknowledge what they were all thinking. "The Idol has to be destroyed" Kuasa admitted.

"The Idol is our totem's power source. Without it, we will be powerless. We won't be able to help anyone" Mick argued.

"Mick, we cannot help anyone as things are with the damaged Idol" Mari countered.

"I'm sorry, Mick" Kuasa added. "Better powerless than mad".

Mick nodded and Sara, Zari, and Nate also gave permission. Mari fought the sensations that her totem was sending through her body. She shook and shuddered as she used her totem for the last time to take on a gorilla persona. She picked up the Khushu Idol and threw it hard on the ground and it cracked to pieces on impact.

Relief. A sensation of clarity, cleanliness, and truth set in on the Guardians souls. They actually felt like they could breathe for the first time in over a week. They grabbed each other's hands, closed their eyes and shared in the feeling.

Sara broke away and hugged Laurel. "Thank you" she whispered into her sister's shoulder. " I love you, sister. Always and forever".

"Thank you for fighting it and fighting for me" Laurel responded "All of you. Though I notice Ollie did not come with you".


	14. Chapter 12

The Metas of Central City (including Laurel), The CC Guardians, John, Roy, Mon-El, Alex, and Supergirl returned to Coast City once the Falks and their associates were properly dealt with. Oliver had just finished a press conference with Felicity and Quentin at his side, begging the people of Coast City to find forgiveness in their hearts for the Guardians. Unfortunately, the talk of the town did not sound in favor of The CC Guardians.

Oliver walked over to where The CC Guardians were standing. "All good?" he questioned.

"Back to normal" Sara confirmed. "But to get back to normal, we had to give up our powers indefinitely".

"I'm sorry about that" Oliver sympathized with a small nod.

Barry added "You guys will be back on your feet in no time. In the meantime, Oliver..." Barry made a gesture towards Laurel. Oliver smiled.

"How are you feeling, Pretty Bird?" Oliver asked his wife, warmly.

"Good" Laurel responded shortly and turned on her heel and walked away from him.

Oliver looked towards the ground when Sara placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Ollie, don't let her go... not again" she whispered to her long-time friend.

Oliver nodded courageously and went after the woman he loved. He walked up to Laurel who was not facing him. He opened his mouth to speak but Laurel spoke first, as she could sense Oliver behind her. "I saw that you didn't make it to the fight. Ollie, I am your spouse. For better or for worse, you are supposed to fight for me. This only confirmed my feelings".

"What feelings?" Oliver asked Laurel with concern.

"Ollie, you are not in love with me anymore. With the two of us being apart since we left Ivy Town. You moving back to Star City and growing close to Felicity. I don't know, Ollie..." Laurel's voice trailed off.

Oliver took this as an opportunity to kiss Laurel's lips with so much passion. He looked into the green eyes that he only recognized as his home and he spoke the words that ran through his heart everytime he was lucky enough to wake up next to Dinah Laurel Lance. "Laurel, my wife, my pretty bird. The only reason I am here today is that the one thing that I wanted more than anything else while I was on Lian Yu and everywhere else was to survive, only because my every intention was to come home to you. I survived for you, Dinah Laurel Lance. Nobody else. Not my mother or Thea, not Tommy. You, Laurel. My love for you has not and will not ever change. I didn't come to the fight only because Kara told me they would execute you the moment that they saw me. Laurel, I would do or not do anything for you and not coming to the fight was in your best interest even though I really wanted to be there" Oliver glanced at Laurel's hands. "Especially after what the Falks did to you".

"I still have my most important finger" Laurel commented, showing Oliver that she still had her left ring finger. Oliver pulled that finger to his lips and kissed her wedding ring.

"Laurel", Oliver said. "There is nothing going on between me and Felicity. There has never been and there never will be. Felicity is like a sister and Ray is my friend and he makes Felicity really happy. She has no interest in me and I have no interest in her. I only have an eye for my one pretty bird, you Dinah Laurel Lance. I love you".

"I love you too, Ollie" Laurel replied heartfully. The couple hugged and they kissed. "Oh damn" Laurel nearly shouted. "I forgot Ollie, I have poison in my system"

Oliver's eyes went wide. "How long has it been and how long do you have?" Oliver asked, urgently.

"I don't know. I have eight days, give or take. Food and beverage slow down the deterioration process" Laurel revealed.

"Okay," Oliver answered. "So this is what we're gonna do... Caitlin can find you a cure within that time and William and I will be by your side, I promise" Oliver promised.

"What do you mean? What about your mission back in Star City? Your life?" Laurel asked in a surprised tone.

"You are my life. If you and William are going to be in Central City, that is where I want to be! Besides, I wanted a life after The Green Arrow, and even though Star City will always need The Green Arrow, there is no theory in which The Green Arrow could always be me" Oliver explained. "I am sure that John as The Green Arrow, Roy as Arsenal, and Felicity as Overwatch will work together to continue what I have done for the city they call their home. Anyway, Barry tells me Central City is in need of a new mayor".

Laurel's smile was huge as she threw herself into Oliver's arms. "I love you, Ollie" She muttered into his neck.

"I love you so much" he whispered to her.

Kara landed so Oliver could see her over Laurel's shoulder. "Oliver, Laurel, come see this". She beckoned them to follow her.

She hovered in front of Guardians. "Guys, show them" Kara beamed and the Guardians started using their powers against Kara (who of course was unharmed by the attack).

"Oh my god" whispered Laurel.

"Your powers are still working" Oliver shouted with enthusiasm.

Nate nodded. "The spirit of Zambesi witnessed all the good we have used our gifts for and now we no longer need our totems to perform them".

Zari added, "It's too bad that the people of Coast City have spoken and they want us out".

"Come with us to Central City" Barry offered.

"Yes, when I become mayor, I will be happy to clear your names and declare you guys heroes" Oliver added.

"You're moving to Central City?" Barry asked excitedly. "Nice!"

After talking it over, The Guardians decided the "CC" in their team name could easily stand for "Central City" and excepted the offer. After a goodbye with Kara, Mon-El, and Alex, Oliver went home to pack up his home and get William and Raisa. The CC Guardians and The Metas of Central City both started the journey back to Central City.

Oliver bought a perfect home for he, Laurel and William and bought Raisia an apartment nearby. Oliver carried Laurel (bridal-style) through the front door of their new home with William a few steps ahead of them. "Welcome to OUR home, where we BOTH live" Oliver chuckled warmly.

"I love you, Ollie," Laurel said and kissed her husband's cheek. "I cannot believe I am the only vigilante in our relationship now".

"Me too", Oliver agreed. "But I was wrong when I thought that I needed to be The Green Arrow to be my best self, all need is the two people I love the most in the world" He put Laurel down on her feet and he called William to him. He pulled his wife and his son into a hug. "My home is wherever the two of you are".

 **Thank you, Guys. That's all for "The Fever They Can't Fight". I'll have another Lauriver Story entitled "You're a Monster" coming out soon, so please stay tuned. I love you gus so much!**


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